Breeding Birds of the Platte River Valley

Introduction

When the first transcontinental explorers reached the Platte River in the early
19th century, they found a relatively pristine environment occupied by Native
Americans along with vast herds of ungulates and flocks of birds. Townsend (1839)
and Fremont (1845), the first major explorers in the region, kept records of the
natural features of the Platte River Valley in an attempt to identify the wealth
of natural resources there. Breeding birds along the Platte River occurred in
tremendous numbers at that time. Because forest vegetation was virtually lacking,
grassland birds such as greater prairie-chicken (scientific names are given in
the Species Accounts), grasshopper sparrow, western meadowlark, and long-billed
curlew were among the predominant species. Wet meadows associated with the seasonally
wet reaches of the river supported nesting bobolink, upland sandpiper, and dickcissel,
among others.

Lured by the gold and other valuable resources farther west, explorers moved
rapidly through the valley. A series of trails soon developed as additional
travelers pushed westward. From the modest beginnings of wagon trains, cattle
grazing, and army forts, the Platte River Valley developed rapidly into a major
agricultural and livestock-producing region. Communities were established to
provide support services for farming and ranching activities.

A transportation network was essential to development of the area. Until the
Union Pacific Railroad was completed through central Nebraska in 1866, there
was no effective way to transport agricultural goods to market. The federal
government encouraged development of the Union Pacific and other railroads by
granting lands along the rights-of-way to the railroad companies. The railroads
then generated money by selling these lands to homesteaders. Railroads subsidized
the immigration of European settlers to the region with low fares and low land
prices. The effort, along with the offer of free land through various amendments
of the Homestead Act, promoted settlement of central Nebraska.

Concomitant with the great influx of settlers and resultant development of
the agricultural community, extensive and mostly permanent changes occurred
in the character of the Platte River Valley landscape. The once-vast areas of
tall grass prairie were reduced to odd corners that would not accommodate a
plow. Agricultural irrigation development facilitated the drastic reduction
in peak and annual flows in the Platte River, ultimately and permanently changing
the habitat from sandbar and wet meadow to riparian forest. Shelterbelts, established
to reduce the impact of the ever-present prairie wind on tilled lands, provided
a new habitat for breeding birds to exploit. The end result of the advance of
man across the Platte River system was the unavoidable and irreparable alteration
of the habitats and wildlife that once flourished here.

Because man's activities continue to influence the status of many breeding
bird species, it is important to summarize the current body of knowledge about
those birds. With the accumulation of more data in the future, informed decisions
can be made about species populations and distribution. Our objective in this
book are to provide an in-depth description of the breeding bird community that
occurs in the Platte River Valley in central Nebraska. We describe the effects
of prior development on the status and distribution of 141 bird species, and
provide maps of their breeding distributions.